AUGUST 2013 ISSUE

First impressions are rarely accurate. But in the case of chief of naval staff, Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi, the first impression held itself pretty accurately the second time too. The first time was at his annual press conference before the Navy Day last year when he took on the questions from the journalists without hesitation (some would say without caution as well), and the second time was at his house in the evening in the closing week of July.

Two entirely different settings: one was formal and structured; the other was informal, made quaint by the balminess of the post-rain weather, the cry of birds on the carefully manicured lawns and the wafting fragrance of wet earth. But beyond this, everything else was the same. Perhaps, it is a reflection of his transparent, no-nonsense personality, that you get what you see; each time. And that is, a person who wears his uniform as a second skin (no pun intended), who minces no words and has little patience with diplomatic niceties.